A successor to the Nexus 7 tablet is also rumored. Sporting a 7.7-inch screen and a 1920×1200 resolution at 294ppi, the tablet would be powered by a Tegra 4 chip. If the rumors are true, consumers should expect the devices to debut in May 2013. The devices will run “Key Lime Pie,” the next operating system version succeeding “Jelly Bean.”

Analysis: 2 Companies To Watch

1. LG Display Co., Ltd. (LPL): Engages in the manufacture and supply of thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) to original equipment manufacturers and multinational corporations primarily in Asia, the United States, and Europe. Market cap at $9.79B, most recent closing price at $13.68.

LG Display stands to benefit if Google chooses the company to build the Nexus 5 and 7.7-inch tablet. Asus is the current supplier for Nexus 7. Since November, shares traded down steadily, falling 20% from a 52-week high. LG is also a supplier for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. For the interim, LG’s share price will be impacted by quarterly results from Apple on January 23 after the market closes. Longer-term, a confirmation that LG will supply for Google will justify a higher valuation.

NVIDIA relies on the success of Android to increase mobile sales. The graphics chip maker was hurt by weak Motorola Xoom sales, which used the Tegra 2 processor, in 2011. Current Android-based tablets made by Google and Lenovo are powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 3.

NVIDIA Tegra 4 competes with Qualcomm’s (QCOM) Snapdragon 800. The Tegra 4 is powerful: it supports HDR photography well, runs on 4 CPU cores, and has 72 GeForce GPU cores. Yet, Qualcomm is still the preferred chip for SoC, because the Snapdragon chip have connectivity modules.